Everton host Spurs in the fight for a spot in Europe

Everton FC v Tottenham Hotspur
English Premier League, Matchday 16
Goodison Park, Liverpool
Sunday, 9th December, 2012 at 15:00

Everton earned a point against reigning Premier League champions Man City in their last outing, with Marouane Fellaini continuing to grab the headlines this season by both scoring for Everton and conceding the penalty that allowed City to equalize.

That was Everton’s third 1-1 draw in a row, and their eighth score draw so far this season including seven in their last nine games.

Fellaini’s goal was his eighth of the season from 42 shots at goal with exactly two thirds on target. That makes Fellaini a more accurate marksman this season than players including Robin van Persie (56% on target), Luis Suarez (51% on target) and Jermain Defoe (62% on target).

As well as scoring the opener, Fellaini went on to become the first Everton player this season to top 7 miles in a match. He has covered 82.46 miles so far this season, more than any other Everton player.

Everton have two of the twenty outfield players to have played more than 1400 minutes in the Premier League this season. Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka have been ever presents for Everton this season and despite keeping just two clean sheet this season the pair have been on impressive form.

Jagielka has made the fifth highest number of defensive interventions in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index with 171 in total, across with 37 tackles attempted and an incredible 83.8% of those won. Add to that an incredible 95 interceptions, 26 clearances, and 13 blocks and Jagielka has made a defensive contribution every 8 minutes and 28 seconds.

Spurs rise up the Premier League table continues as they beat Fulham 3-0 in their last game, with goals from Jermain Defoe and Sandro moving them up to fourth.

Defoe has nine goals so far this season, just one short of the Premier League’s top goalscorers. He has had 55 shots at goal this season with 58.1% on target.

Only Liverpool’s Luis Suarez has had more shots at goal with a huge 80 shots. Suarez has averaged 8 shots per goal compared to Defoe’s 6.1 shots per goal, showing the value that Defoe’s finishing prowess has to his team.

Sandro has been in dominant form in recent games, and as well as scoring against Fulham he has covered more ground than any other Spurs player in three of their last four outings, taking his total for the season to 83.9 miles, more than any other player.

Michael Dawson went off injured in the game against Fulham to continue a frustrating season for the Spurs defender. Dawson has played just 291 minutes this season but has contributed 7 won tackles, 8 clearances, 36 interceptions and 3 blocks. That makes a defensive intervention every 5 minutes and 11 seconds, the best in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.

Gareth Bale continues to dominate the sports pages as the Welsh international has earned himself both comparisons with Ronaldo and the support of Spurs legend David Ginola in the last week.

Bale has six goals in the Premier League this season, and the third highest number of shots at goal with 53.

Tough tackling Marouane Fellaini may meet his match in Spurs defender Jan Verthonghen. Verthongen has grown in stature throughout the season and has now won 39 tackles, the second highest in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Even more impressively, he has won 75% of all his tackles so far this season.